History of OBC Reservation

Under Article 340 of the Indian constitution it is obligatory for the government to promote the welfare of the Other Backward Classes.

The first Backward Classes Commission headed by Shri kaka kalelkar in 1953, and Mandal Commission headed by Shri B.P.Mandal in 1980 has given many useful recommendations for the welfare of Other Backward Classes. The population of OBC’s which includes Hindus and Non-Hindus was around 52% of the total population according to the commission.

27% of reservation was recommended owing to legal constraints that the total quantum of reservation should not exceed 50%.

One of the most important recommendations is that all private sector undertakings which have received financial assistance from the government in one form or another should be obliged to recruit personnel on the reservation basis. But, even after 2 decades we are unable to get it inspite of our continuous efforts.

On August 7 1990, the then Prime Minister Shri. V P Singh announced that his National Front Government was going to implement Mandal Commission recommendations in Education and jobs, inspite of strong agitations from Forward Communities. In fact, Shri V P Singh lost his power due to his mandalisation policy. The federation remembers him on this special day for his service rendered to this community.

One needs to understand the psychology of opposition of reservation to OBC’s.

When the jobs are nowhere and everything is gone private, then why are the upper castes angry with the reservation for Backward Communities?

The fact is that seats for dalits were rarely fulfilled and we have seen huge backlog. There has been no protest. It was easier to curtail the protest of the dalits because of their numbers and social background.

Now the reservation for backward communities being a reality, the powerful backward communities will hit and break the bone of upper castes. That is the fear of this community. They know that there are enough students from these communities who will join great institutes of technology and management.

The Supreme Court of India on April 10 2008 upheld the government’s move for initiating 27% OBC quotas in Govt. funded Institutions. But it is necessary for the Govt. at this juncture to exclude the creamy layer policy from the reservation quota.

To be strong in the present scenario, it is more important to show our strength and unity of OBC’s. AIOBC association work towards social justice. AIOBC is giving hand and helping us in this regard.

The issue of under-representation of the socio-economically deprived, discriminated backward caste and classes in the spheres of education, employment, administration and commerce is burning at this stage. I appeal all the member associations to work hard towards the success of the reservation policies.

Let us truly reform our society and work for a truly democratic India, where every community participates in power and every person gets their reservation in respective areas in proportion to their shares in population.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

‘It is a blow to OBC interests'

Bidar: A recent Ordinance of the State Government amends the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act and caps the reservation to various deprived communities at 50 per cent. This means that half the seats are available to general merit candidates. This, according to the Ordinance, will be achieved by keeping the reservation for SC/STs intact and reducing the number of seats reserved for OBCs.
Many backward class leaders have opposed this move as they say it will affect the balance of political power in the villages.
This will impact the political system at the grassroots levels. The order will reduce the total number of OBC seats in zilla panchayats to 223 from 334. This is an average reduction of 33 per cent. The new seat matrix has been published on the State Election Commission's website www.karsec.gov.in.
The worst affected district is Raichur where the reduction will be 84 per cent. The zilla panchayat in this district has 35 seats. The OBC seats there would be reduced to 2 from 12.
In Chitradurga, the reduction in seats would be to 3 from 11 (75 per cent). In Bidar, to 3 from 10 (73 p.c.), Bellary, 3 from 10 (70 p.c.), Kolar, 7 from 18 (62 p.c.), Chamarajanagar, 3 from 7 (58 p.c.), Mysore 7 from 15 (54 p.c.), Davangere 5 from 11 (55 p.c.), Bangalore Urban 5 from 9 (55 p.c.). Districts where there will be no change are Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Mandya, Dharwad and Uttara Kannada.
Taluk panchayats will also witness significant changes. As many as nine taluk panchayats will not have any seats reserved for OBC or minority community members.
“It is fatal to the welfare of the backward classes. It destroys the concept of proportional representation to these sections. It is unconstitutional and should be withdrawn,” says former chairman of the backward classes commission Ravivarma Kumar.
According to him, the 50 per cent cap on reservation fixed by the Supreme Court was only for education and employment and not political reservation.
“Reducing the quantum of reservation for backward classes amounts to supporting the politically overrepresented castes. Over the years, Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who together form about 25 per cent of the State's population, have been winning over 50 per cent seats in the State Assembly. If these seats are reserved, OBCs and minorities will be kept out of the local self-government system for ever,” says Congress MLC Khaji Arshed Ali. He and some other Congress leaders are planning to challenge the Government Order in the High Court.
Janata Dal (S) leader and former Law Minister M.C. Nanaiah has questioned the wisdom of the Government in going in for an Ordinance to make such an important change in the reservation policy.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar ruled out withdrawing the Ordinance or the order. He said that the matrix was fixed according to the Supreme Court order in the Mandal case and was legal and valid.
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